Blogging with Mayo

Mayowa Oroyemi

Professor Penaz

English 2150

5/12/09

Being Successful in the Big Apple

You could choose to live anywhere in the United States and live a simple and humble life but there is no city like New York. If a person chose to move to New York they not only would have to have a secure way of making money but also they have to know how to manage their money. The question: what does it take to make it in New York? Is one that I have heard many times. The first thing I say to that is making it in America itself is let alone New York. Many people that live in other countries automatically assume that because you live in America that you are rich or have some kind of money.

This happens with my own family in Nigeria. The last time I went to Nigeria many of my aunts and uncles were asking me how many cars I owned and if I could give them money and I was just shocked. I told them what kind of work could some my age be doing that they would be able to afford more than one car and be able to support family members also. A lot of people seem to forget that hardship exist everywhere, even in the most successful of countries also. But there are many factors that determine not only how successful a person can be but also to their means of production.

Many people argue that in New York you can only be successful if your family is already rich or you know people that know people. I believe that this is a small factor in becoming successful. I say that the key to becoming successful is by going to a good college and getting the best education that you can get yourself to better prepare yourself for the real world and the real money that comes along with it. The main reason many of us go to school is to be able to get good or higher paying jobs that will put us in a better financial position.

Not only does a good education get you a good job with good pay but it makes you smarter as a human being also. A person also becomes successful in the sense that when they are educated they know how to carry and conduct themselves around their peers and others. Education teaches us how to socialize with not only others but people from other cultures and backgrounds. For instance in school they might teach you that certain societies take off their shoes when going into a holy place like a church or temple and just from knowing this you know how to act when you are in that situation also.

Education shows us how to look for jobs, how to speak to employers when we are seeking good rewarding jobs. Without education even if we had the money we wouldn’t know what to do with it, how to manage it, and how to conduct ourselves because there are many people that have money but do not know how to act. In New York to be successful you must have a good education because there are so many people waiting to take advantage of you and use you in there scheme to become rich or successful. I believe that being successful in New York means more than just being rich though.

To me being successful means have a good amount of money but also being able to look at myself in the mirror and say “wow look at what you have accomplished Mayowa”. I want my children to look at me and not think that they don’t have to work hard because my money will be theirs but I want them to strive to be even more successful than I am. I want my children to accomplish things that I couldn’t accomplish. A successful person In New York is someone who knows the in and outs. You have to be very sharp in New York because there are a lot of swindlers out here.

I have heard many stories from my mother and father about friends of theirs who were renowned doctors and lawyers back in Nigeria and they then come here and become security guards and janitors not because they stopped striving but because education in some countries are worth more than others and these people have to start their education all over again like a person who is just entering grad school. They motivate me though because they didn’t give up they knew that it would take hard work to be successful and go their PhDs and MDs and became what they once were and began making even more money than they would have made if they were still doctors or lawyers in Nigeria.

Education goes a long way if you have the best education that can be given to you and you utilize it and take advantage of it, it doesn’t matter what country you go to you will be recognized and in New York that makes a big difference because there are so many competition for the little jobs that are available out here in New York and the person with the more education and more knowledge on his or her resume will most likely walk away with the best job at the end of the day. Education plays a big role because like I said a person has to be able to manage their money and know their limits and without education how can a person know such things. Education can take us so far because it is the stomping ground and the base for a lot of aspects in life. So I leave you with this thought can you find yourself being a successful person in New York? The answer is yes you can if you strive to get the education needed and feed yourself knowledge.